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Getting Started with the ELM327

- In this section I will try to show, step by step, the correct way to connect an ELM327 device to a vehicle and to link it to the smartphone or PC.

- Although it is possible that there are some ELM327 that differ somewhat in mechanics to effect the bonding, generally the procedure will be the described here.

- The first step to using our ELM327 device is to connect it to the vehicle's OBD2 port. Connecting it is easy becauste it can only be made in one way due to the shape of the connector itself, the only difficulty would be to find the connector. More information here.

- The second is to distinguish the connection method available in the ELM327 device and the limitations of each:

USB cable connection: Can only be used with computers. On many occasions I have been asked about this device without wanting to know anything about the other 2. The reason is some people who have little knowledge about these issues think that cable "things" are easier to use. When, in this case, it is quite the opposite. The easy connection of the bluetooth and wifi versions exceeds the USB version by far.

Bluetooth connection: This is the most widespread version and has several reasons to be: They are the most economical and work with computers and phones (Android). It's also possible to use them with Apple phones but it is not recommendable because you have to be an expert, jailbreak the phone (losing the warranty) and install some application that allows the use of bluetooth.

WIFI connection: A little more expensive than the bluetooth versions but the most compatible, can be used with all devices and, without a doubt, the perfect version for users of Apple devices.

- The compatibility of the ELM327 with vehicles is independent of the type of connection (USB, Bluetooth or WIFI), they are equally compatible. it differs according to the version of the adapter (1.5 or 2.1) as mentioned in the section of compatible vehicles.

- Now, let's go directly to the explanation based on the type of connection: